The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1887-03-29

SENATOR SHERMAN's Nashville speech has
received many compliments but none more
fattering than the action of leading Demo
Gratis who held conference the night after
welfare of the Democratic party in Tennessee
required that some reply should be made to it.
AS the Legislature is in session the Democrats
who reached this wise conclusion were pre-
sumably representative men from different
parts of the State, charged with the solemn
duty of taking care Of the Democratic party.
The theory of the solid South is that no light
must be permitted to enter if it can possibly
be excluded. The political solidity of that
section and the immaculate purity of the De-
mocracy depend on preventing, as far as pos
sible, the presentation of Republican ideas be-
fore the people, and if any such do happen to
gain admission and circulation they must be
counteracted as soon as possible. So the
Democratic conferees decided that Mr.. Sher-
mans speech must be answered. They were
right 1t was very effective speech and cal
culated to set Southern men thinking
This is just what the Democratic
leaders do not want either South or
North. Once let men get in the way Of think
ing. and they soon become amenable to reason
and argument Their minds become receptive
of truth and accessible to information. Democ-
racy cannot afford this. So, in order to coun-
| teract as far as possible the effect of Mr..
| Sherman's speech, the Democratic watchmen
| on the Tennessee walls decided that it must
be answered. First, they sent telegram to
| Speaker Carlisle. urging him to come to Nash
vile as soon as possible and deliver counter
blast, but he wired back that it would be
| impossible for him to come. Then they
| determined to summon Senator Beck, of
| Kentucky, but before the messenger bearing
the dispatch had reached the telegraph Office
| it had been decided to substitute the name of
| Senator Harris, of Tennessee and this was
DONE He is the man they want. A Bourbon
of the Bourbons, nat. g and to the manor
born, he understands the constitution of the
Southern Democracy and how to treat it. He
knows how the solid South has been main
tanned in the past and how it must be main
tanned, if at all, in the future, and it will be
a labor of love to him to assist in neutralizine
the effect of Senator Sherman's speech, and
| preventing any injurious consequences there
from to the Tennessee Democracy. This
done he and the other Democratic guardians
can proceed to rebuild their damaged fences,
shut the doors, put up the blinds and stop ur
ever to exclude the light from the South
Thus by their united efforts they may posi-
| bly, succeed in preserving its political solidar
ity and prolonging the era of Democratic
darkness for little while longer. But mer
can think in the dark, and ideas may sprout
even in dungeon. The Democratic leader.
cannot wholly exclude the light from the
South or prevent some of the stray seeds o.
truth, which are occasionally waited thither
from taking root. One such speech as tha
Of Mr. Sherman's sets going great man,
echoes, and they cannot all be caught ant
stopped. Even if the Democratic guardians
should succeed in preventing another infu1
of Northern light for long time they canno
arrest the progress cf that which has alread,
entered. Mr.. Sherman's speech has done it
work.
LA SALE county, Illinois, of which Ottaw;